When a visitor comes to a new website (yours perhaps) he or she is typically wary, skeptical, nervous. They ask, "Where am I? What kind of site is this?" They look around, looking for indicators, clues.

Confidence builders are those things that give visitors confidence that they have arrived at a reputable, honest, reliable website. Without the visible presence of confidence builders, the visitor remains skeptical, doubtful and more likely to leave without taking any action.

When the visitor sees confidence builders he is reassured, he tends to relax a bit, take the site seriously and consider doing business there. He is more likely to stay and sign up for a newsletter, seriously consider what is being offered, even buy something.

From the point of view of the webmaster, confidence builders are an essential element of converting skeptical visitors into customers!

Here is a list of confidence builders that visitors will look for and webmasters should provide, arranged in approximately decreasing order of importance:

1. Contact page. (Who ARE these people? Can I actually find them? Contact them?)

2. Privacy statement. (Can I trust these people with my e-mail address?)

3. Seals of certifying agencies like Hacker Proof, Honest e Online, E-Trust, Better Business Bureau or similar. (Who vouches for these people?)

4. Familiar logos such as VISA, MasterCard and PayPal (Who do they have financial connections with? What financial agencies know them and do business with them?)

5. Name and photo of the person behind the site. (Is there a real person here? What does he/she look like? What does that tell me about them?)

6. Cursive signature. (Is the owner of this site willing to stand behind it? Will he put his name and signature on the line for it?)

7. Testimonials. (Who else has dealt with this website? What was their experience?)

8. Recordings and videos are being increasingly used to give websites a personal feeling, that you are hearing from the person behind it. If the people behind the website inspire confidence, the visitor is more interested in dealing with the website.

Numerous split-tests have confirmed that the presence of these confidence builders, either alone or in combinations, significantly increase website conversion rates.

To sell your products or services, it is not enough to just emphasize and sell the positive aspects. There are pre-existing negative inhibitors to doing business with you that must be eliminated or at least neutralized.

Your visitors will arrive skeptical. To sell anything to them you must first reassure them and turn that skepticism into confidence.

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For more information on using confidence builders to boost website conversion rates, visit: Confidence Builders. Jorge Chavez is an experienced website confidence builder at www.ConfidenceBuilders.ya23.com

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